The Jerry Sandusky scandal now officially reaches to the highest levels of Penn State University. Former university president Graham Spanier has been charged in connection with the case (you can read Spanier's response here).

"(Spanier) is accused of conspiring with other top university officials to conceal information about suspected child abuse involving Jerry Sandusky, along with obstructing the criminal investigation into this case, perjury before a grand jury, endangering the welfare of children and other related crimes," an AG news release states.

University Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz and former Penn State Athletic Director Timothy Curley, who already faced charges in the Sandusky matter, now face more, according to Kelly (all of the charges are laid out in the graphic below).

"This is not a mistake, an oversight or a misjudgment. This was a conspiracy of silence by top officials at Penn State, working to actively conceal the truth, with total disregard to the suffering of children," Kelly said.

Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office

Kelly said that Penn State's efforts to get documents were significantly thwarted and little was given voluntarily to the grand jury until Spanier was fired and his employees ordered to hand over documents.

Kelly said that if Spanier, Curley and Schultz had not covered up Sandusky's sexual abuse of boys, other boys would likely have been spared.

Kelly revealed that Schultz allegedly kept a Sandusky file in a drawer at his campus office and that staffers were told to never look in it. On the day that the original charges were filed against Sandusky, Curley and Schultz, Kelly said the file was removed from Schultz's office and delivered to his home. Kelly said Schultz's secretary knew of the file and was able to make a copy of it before the original was moved.

When asked if Joe Paterno were still alive today, whether he would be charged in the case, Kelly said, "I thought that might be the first question. And my response to that is, Mr. Paterno is deceased. The defendants that have been charged in this case are Curley, Schultz and Spanier. And I'm not going to speculate or comment on Mr. Paterno's relationship to this investigation. He's deceased and that's the end of it."

Spanier, who was forced out of his position at the college last November, has denied knowing about any sexual misconduct by Sandusky. His role in the Sandusky case was documented several places in the Freeh Report, which was the university's independent investigation into what happened.

The report states that Penn State administrator Tim Curley recommended talking to Sandusky about a 2001 shower incident, where Sandusky was seen with a boy in the Penn State showers, before going to authorities. On Feb. 27, 2001, Spanier wrote: "Tim, this approach is acceptable to me...the only downside for us is if the message isn't "heard" and acted upon, and we then become vulnerable for not having reported it. But that can be assessed down the road. The approach you outline is humane and a reasonable way to proceed."

In an interview with investigators regarding the 2001 incident where Sandusky was seen with a boy in a Penn State shower, Spanier said Curley and another administrator, Gary Schultz, told him that Sandusky and a child were "horsing around" or "engaged in horseplay." Spanier did not ask Curley or Schultz to define horseplay, according to the report.

The chief criticisms of Spanier in the Freeh report were:

He and the others never made an attempt to identify Victim 2.

He was more concerned with the potential bad publicity than with reporting the suspected abuse.

He "failed in his duties as president" by keeping the board of trustees in the dark.

The Attorney General's office released the following news release on the charges:

"Attorney General Linda Kelly and Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan today announced that criminal charges have been filed against former Penn State University President Graham Spanier, who is accused of conspiring with other top university officials to conceal information about suspected child abuse involving Jerry Sandusky, along with obstructing the criminal investigation into this case, perjury before a grand jury, endangering the welfare of children and other related crimes.

New criminal charges have also been filed against former University Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz and former Penn State Athletic Director Timothy Curley.

Spanier, Schultz and Curley are accused of concealing information about suspected child abuse involving Jerry Sandusky, including on-campus incidents from 1998 and 2001 that were reported and discussed in great detail by those three men. The three are also accused of obstructing the criminal investigation into the case, making false statements before a grand jury, endangering the welfare of children and other related crimes.

"This is not a mistake, an oversight or a misjudgment. This was a conspiracy of silence by top officials at Penn State, working to actively conceal the truth, with total disregard to the suffering of children," Kelly said.

"I hope the attention this case received will change people's perceptions concerning child sexual abuse," said Noonan. "If you are aware of a complaint by a child or if you know that a child is being abused, it is imperative that you report it immediately to law enforcement."

The grand jury presentment shows in great detail the ways in which the three men conspired to conceal and cover up the truth, according to Kelly.

"The grand jury issued a subpoena in December 2010," said Kelly, "But pertinent emails and other key evidence were never turned over until April 2012, after these men had left their jobs."

Notes and documents about the 1998 and 2001 crimes were allegedly kept by Schultz in a file drawer in his campus office. Schultz told staff members that they were never to look in that "Sandusky" file. On November 5, 2011 - the day that original criminal charges were announced against Sandusky, Schultz and Curley - that file was removed from Schultz's office and delivered to his home.

The existence of Schultz's file about Sandusky, along with an extensive amount of additional information from Penn State that was beneficial to the investigation, was not disclosed until after Spanier was terminated as President of the University by the Board of Trustees, which then directed university personnel to cooperate fully with the investigation.

Kelly said it is important to remember what was at stake in this case. Spanier, Schultz and Curley failed to do what was legally required of them when the matter first came to their attention. As a result, at least four boys were attacked between 2001 and 2008, including Victim 1, Victim 3, Victim 5 and Victim 9.

Graham B. Spanier, 64, 425 Windmere Drive, State College, is charged with one count perjury and two counts of endangering the welfare of children and two counts of criminal conspiracy, all third-degree felonies which are each punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 fines.

Additionally, Spanier is charged with one count of obstructing the administration of law or other governmental function and one count of criminal conspiracy, both second-degree misdemeanors punishable by up to two years in prison and $5,000 fines, along with one count of failure to report suspected child abuse, a summary offense punishable by up to 90 days in prison and a $300 fine.

Gary Charles Schultz, 63, 636 Rosslyn road, Boalsburg, and Timothy Mark Curley, 58, 201 Meadowlark Lane, Boalsburg, are each charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of children and two counts of criminal conspiracy, third-degree felonies which are each punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 fines. Schultz and Curley are also each charged with one count of obstructing the administration of law or other governmental function and one count of criminal conspiracy, second-degree misdemeanors which are each punishable by up to two years in prison and $5,000 fines.

Kelly noted that Curley and Schultz are currently awaiting trial in Dauphin County court on charges of perjury (one count each) and failure to report under the Child Protective Services Law (one count each). At this time that trial is scheduled to begin in January 2013.

Preliminary arraignments for all three will be scheduled before Harrisburg Magisterial District Judge William C. Wenner.

Kelly and Noonan noted that this remains an active and ongoing criminal investigation and thanked the agents, troopers, investigators and support staff from both the Office of Attorney General and the Pennsylvania State Police for their dedication and professionalism during this extensive effort.

(A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.)"